After 50 years at La Mama Theatre, Liz Jones will step down from her role as Artistic Director and co-CEO at the end of March 2023.

The announcement coincides with the launch of La Mama’s Summer 2023 program. It has been, the announcement notes, “a difficult decision”.

“I step down from these positions of responsibility with both great relief and a heavy heart,” said Jones in the statement released to the media. “But I know La Mama is in good hands and believe it will have a brilliant future. And I hope to be in the audience of that important institution for many years to come.”

Jones will maintain a presence at La Mama, however. As a La Mama elder, she will continue to read playscripts and provide feedback. She will also continue her work on La Mama’s “Lost History”’ project, which aims to recover the stories and history lost from her diaries in the fire that gutted the Heritage-listed building in 2018.

During her tenure at La Mama, Jones oversaw the production of hundreds of works, the fundraising of $1.7 million to purchase the venerable Carlton site in 2008, and the planning for its rebuilding after it burned down.